Pittsburgh boil water advisory lifted; officials apologize, say there was no danger to public health

"To the people of Pittsburgh, we're sorry that this happened. We had to be cautious. We had to take precautionary measures," Mayor Bill Peduto says. "At no time was your water ever in danger."

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Updated: 7:52 PM EST Feb 2, 2017

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WEBVTT WSA SAID THERE WAS NOLONGER A RISK TO CUSTOMERS.ROB MAYO AS AN UPDATE.REPORTER: WE ARE HERE AT THEHIGHLAND RESERVOIR, YOU SEESPARKLING IN THE SUN, DUCKS ATTHE WHAT.WALKERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOVETO SEE THIS BUT IT CREATES THENEED FOR EXTRA KROER LEACHLORINE.THAT CREATED A CONCERN TOCHLORINE LIFES WERE LOW.NO NEED TO FILL UP AT THE WATERBUFFALOES, THEY ARE SATISFIEDTHE WATER AUTHORITY TESTS SHOWCHLORINE LEVELS ARE HIGH ENOUGHTO ASSURE THE WATER IS SAFE.>> TO THE PEOPLE OF PITTSBURGHWE ARE SORRY THAT THIS HAPPENED,WE HAD TO BE CAUTIOUS, WE HAD TOTAKE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES ATNO TIME WAS YOUR WATER EVER INDANGER.>> LET ME A POLME ME A POLLSKWRAOEUS TO ALL OME ME A POLLSKWRAOEUZ TO ALL OF THERESIDENTS IN THE CITY OFPITTSBURGH FOR THE MASSIVEINCONVENIENCE.REPORTER: NO CONTAMINANTS WEREEVERY FOUND IN THE WATER.>> THERE WAS NEVER ANYINDICATION OF ANY CONTAMINATIONIN ANY CITY WATERS.THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACT.WE HAD A SITUATION IN EFFECTHOLDING RESIDENCES IN CITIESHOSTAGE OVER A TECHNICALVIOLATION.>> I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT ITCREATED PROBABLY MANY HARDSHIPSTHAT I WILL NEVER HEAR ABOUT FORKNOW H.REPORTER: LANGUAGE THE DEP ORDEROBTAINED BY PITTSBURGH ACTIONNEWS 4 LABELED THE WATERAUTHORITY A PUBLIC NUISANCE ANDTHREATENED 5,000-DOLLAR A DAYFINES.THE CITY SAYS IT'S NOT GOTTENWORD OF ANY FINES.>> AT NO TIME WAS THE PUBLIC INDANGER.BUT AS A REGULATOR, THEDEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION MUST TAKE ACTIONS IFSOMETHING WITHIN A SYSTEM DOESNOT WORK PROPERLY.REPORTER: THE WATER AUTHORITYACKNOWLEDGING IT HAS SOMEBUILDING OF ITS REPUTATION TO DOWITH CONSUMERS IN THE PITTSBURGHAREAS, THEY PROMISED TO DO THATAND TO PLAN BETTER FOR THEFUTURE.REPORTING LIVE THE A THE

Pittsburgh boil water advisory lifted; officials apologize, say there was no danger to public health

"To the people of Pittsburgh, we're sorry that this happened. We had to be cautious. We had to take precautionary measures," Mayor Bill Peduto says. "At no time was your water ever in danger."

More than 100,000 Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customers got word late Thursday morning that they no longer need to boil their drinking water and flush their water lines as a precautionary measure.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is satisfied that tests by the PWSA now show chlorine levels are high enough to assure the water is safe.

"To the people of Pittsburgh, we're sorry that this happened. We had to be cautious. We had to take precautionary measures," Mayor Bill Peduto said. "At no time was your water ever in danger. But at the same time, it's always best to err on the side of good judgment."

"Let me apologize to all of our residents in the city of Pittsburgh for this massive inconvenience," PWSA director Bernard Lindstrom said.

The city and the PWSA emphasized that no contaminants were ever found in the water.

"There never was any indication of any contamination in city water. That's a very important fact," said Peduto's chief of staff, Kevin Acklin. "We had a situation that was, in effect, holding the people of the city hostage over a technical violation."

"Without a doubt, it created probably many hardships that I will probably never hear about or know," Lindstrom said. "And it created uncertainty in many people's minds that may have kept many up at night."

Language in the DEP order, which was obtained by Pittsburgh's Action News 4, said that the operation of the water authority with the violation "constitutes a "public nuisance" and said the department "may assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per day for each violation of the (Pennsylvania) Safe Drinking Water Act."

The city says it has not gotten notice of any fines.

"At no time was the public in danger. But as a regulator, the Department of Environmental Protection must take actions if something within a system does not work properly," Peduto said. "Although it was a nuisance to so many people in the city, at no time were they ever in danger. At no time was there any contamination that was found."

"Our morale and capabilities are probably at an all-time low. That doesn't mean we're not continuing to try to improve," Lindstrom said. "I'm aware of the public perception of the PWSA, and I can assure you that no one who works for this organization is happy about that."

Lindstrom said the PWSA promises a thorough review and said, "We have the highest level of respect for the Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania."

Acklin said the water authority and the city had provided the DEP with "evidence that we had achieved the level of chlorine in the system -- that we, in fact, had removed the concern and the risk."

"At no time did our water ever go below the federal standard," Peduto said. "So in another state, this water would have been safe. We wouldn't have had to take these precautionary measures."

"At this point, we truly don't know" what caused low readings for chlorine at a Highland Park Reservoir chlorometer location, Lindstrom said. He pledged that the PWSA would "document what happened and investigate how we could have caught this earlier."

City and water authority officials praised the long hours and quick response of the public employees in response to the problem.

"Within a short period of time, we were able to facilitate the arrival of over 37,000 gallons of water and water buffaloes, (of which) 1,950 gallons was used," said Wendell Hissrich, the city's public safety director. "As hard as this was, it could have been a lot worse."

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Effective immediately, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) lifted the flush and boil water advisory impacting approximately 100,000 residents in the City of Pittsburgh. Customers no are longer are required to boil tap water before consumption. Officials from PWSA, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) met this morning to discuss water quality data related to the flush and boil water advisory. Officials from DEP confirmed that all drinking water requirements are currently being achieved, and there is no longer a potential risk to the drinking water supply.

“PWSA sincerely appreciates the public’s patience and apologizes for the massive inconvenience that resulted from the precautionary flush and boil water advisory,” said PWSA Interim Executive Director Bernard R. Lindstrom. “We realize this incident created hardships for residents of the city, but know that our main goal at PWSA is, and will continue to be, providing safe drinking water to our customers.”

Late Wednesday night, PWSA provided the DEP with the required documentation and data to prove that the Authority achieved compliance, and its drinking water was safe for public consumption. This data showed that there was sufficient chlorine within the water system, the potential “water of concern” had been eliminated, and that the water met and exceeded all DEP water quality standards.

“PWSA has the highest level of respect for DEP. Their rules and regulations are crafted to protect the public. In collaboration with DEP and the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, the Authority will conduct a full investigation and review of this incident,” said Lindstrom.

“I want to thank Mayor Peduto, Chief of Staff Acklin, County Executive Fitzgerald, all of the public safety officials and the rest of the City of Pittsburgh staff for all their support and assistance,” said Lindstrom.